Ava Alderman Articles

by: Ava Alderman:  These no denying that nutrisystem’s flex plan has gained quick and massive popularity.   The plan allows you to take 2 days off each week (most people take the weekends off) and it’s often the cheapest plan.  Sometimes, they even discount it or put it on sale and this sort of aggressive pricing makes it very tempting. (Both the nutrisystem flex and basic lines are on sale right now, as of this writing.  But is it really a better deal or preferable to nutrisystem’s basic 4 week plan?  In the following article, I’ll offer a comparison to both plans so that you can decide for yourself.

Nutrisystem Flex Doesn’t Always Work Out To Be Cheaper, But It Usually Has A Lower Entry Level: It’s true that sometimes you will pay less out of pocket (at least initially) for nutrisystem flex.  Right now, they have it on sale and priced very aggressively so it would be the lowest entry point.  However, this isn’t always the case.  Sometimes, they discount the basic 4 week package so much that it’s actually priced almost equally plus you are getting more food.   You only get 20 days worth of five meals per day with the flex package, but you get 8 more days worth of meals with the basic 4 week plan.  This is ALOT more food which sometimes comes for not that much more money.  Nothing says that you can’t still take 2 days off each week if you purchased the basic plan.  You’d have to buy less packages that way and would likely get the same results. So when the basic plan is heavily discounted, this might make more sense.

The Flex Plan Is Only Part Time, But You Can Make The Basic Plan Work For You If Need Be: It’s completely true that the flex plan is designed for you to take 2 days off, but as I mentioned before, there’s no one lurking in the shadows to make sure that you eat 7 days worth of meals with the basic plan.  And here’s a common misconception.  Many people mistakenly think that they can eat whatever they want on their two days off.  That’s not the way the diet is designed.  You have to eat sensibly or you risk knocking yourself out of ketosis.  I know many people who take liberties with the basic plan if they need a break and it works out well for them.  They just aren’t calling it the flex plan, but this is what they are doing.

It Used To Be That You Could Only Get The Frozen Or “Select” Means With The Basic Plan, But This Is No Longer The Case.  The Frozen Meals Now Available On The Flex Plan Also: It used to be that the deciding factor for many people was that in order to have access to the “select,” gourmet, or frozen line of meals, they had no chose but to go with a 2 or 4 week package because only the basic or regular foods were offered in the flex plan.  This is no longer true.  You can now get the “select” foods on both the regular and the nutrisystem flex package.

So to me, the decision often comes down to which plan is discounted at the time and how much weight you have to lose.  If you’re going to need to be on the diet for more than a month or 2.  Often, the basic plan works out to be cheaper, even if you take the food and take 2 days off on your own.  I always keep the latest discounts on the right side of this blog.  Take a look and it will often be apparent which the better deal turns out to be.